Part 1
Entity : Unknown
Auryls estate's boundary – Forest near at the foot of Mt. Rio
It was still morning and naturally, the blue sky was brimming with the bright morning sun's ray which I despised the most. The sky was also almost cloudless making it hard for us to cover ourselves against the shining bright light.
How I despised the sun.
But even with the undimming light of the scorching ball hanging above our heads, it did not stop my small sets of darkened wings to flutter around. It did not stop me to come here, as always.
Fortunately, I had always by my side my best partner. Wherever I go, I have him.
He helped me to stay under the dark shades of the leaves. Whenever there's no shade for me to cover, he would create a fan out of thorns just to keep me away from the sun.
The fan of thorns was above my head to give me a shade as I fluttered my wings.
It's not I will perish like the vampires if the sun touches my skin. I just do not like the sun. I just do not like the light. I despised it so much.
For I have loved the shades. Darker the shades the better. Who would not want to stay under the coldness and freshness under the shades?
Even my partner agreed without saying a word.
Never mind it all.
Today was the day.
As usual as always, every week I have an 'unimportant' habit of traipsing around this meddling forest at the foot of the iron mountain. Almost all of my time would be spent on flipping my wings trailing inside these woods but all the same, my final steps will always reach in this spot, near at the end of the trees and dried bushes, where the yellowness of the grass plain meets the dark shades of the woods. The beginning of the dominion of the forest and the end of the yellow.
The plain of the yellow grass, The Yellow Blade Field. In the middle of the field, there's a lone big old tree with a door struck on its enormous, scaly, brown trunk. Since we're in autumn, the big tree is dried and leafless like a dead. Brown leaves littered the yellowness of the grass around the tree and as the cold breeze of the mountain blew, the leaves would sound a rattle as they went with the flushing of the wind.
Not so far away, I stayed low, unseen and undetected, near at the boundary of Yellow Blade Field, hiding at darker shades that the dried bushes and trees provided. I would spend the rest of the day away, just waiting for that someone to show up. I was expecting she's going to show up just like she did in the previous weeks like she always did every week.
Well, I was right. She's here, finally. The door struck on the big old tree opened. Dressed on a ragtag old tee-shirt, she went out escorted as always by that ash-haired man, her butler presumably.
I flew forward, almost forgetting about the shades and letting myself be exposed to the bright lights of the mid-morning sun.
I wanted to go closer to her. I wanted to cross what's beyond this boundary, beyond this mystifying barrier between the woods and the yellowness of the grass. I want to get what's ours as soon as possible.
Luckily, I had 'Tricks' always with me, by my side. My best partner.
"Kreek!"
Tricks growled, warned me not to let the sun showered its light on me.
"Yes. I must be with the shades. Thanks for reminding."
I patted his big head, much, much bigger than mine. I patted on his red violet horn to be precise. Tricks liked it. I know he loves to be patted like this as his enormous wings flip as I do.
I moved under the shades of the dried bushes with Tricks behind me.
Now, let's just continue our watch.
I was allured to stay in this border. The reason why – I just had stated it earlier. Because of her, that orange-haired princess.
She is not that important. What matters the most is what she has.
She has it. One of the five fragments of the Phoenix's soul. Or more or less, they stole it. Her predecessors stole it from us.
I found out that every week, that orange-haired princess would come out from that door struck on a monolithic tree in the middle of the plain of yellow grass. To practice, she went there.
There, she would train her molten iron attribute every week by sparring with some magical beasts that her butler offered to her. That ash-haired butler must have a spacial-related attribute. It's also possible he's involved in erecting the barrier around here.
Sometimes, magical beasts as the orange-haired princess's opponent were no match to her liquid iron attribute. They would be cooked meat in no time but there were lucky times like this when her opponent was tough enough to withstand her fiery attribute.
It was a minotaur. It had the endurance and strength to fight with the princess's attribute.
It left her no choice but to use it, her triumph card, the Archon, her Half Deity Transformation. The power of the phoenix's soul fragment.
Though, I would say she was still incomplete for the moment.
I know she has one of the fragment from the first time seeing her transform. I know it for I am who I am. I know for my Dear Mother told me.
For the longest time, my Dear Mother waited, the fragment had resurfaced in the blood of the molten iron. Though without a 'partner', it would be a waste. She would have the difficulty of controlling the raging power of the fragment. Sooner that raging power of the fragment will explode ending the life that orange-haired princess in the process. Of course, it will not be a simple explosion. She will be rampaging, bringing hellish calamity like burning the whole capital city of Rio into ashes. She will need a partner to control and to utilize the full potential of her.
However, even without a partner, she still had the enormous mana and could transform herself into a fire deity, though incomplete and dangerous as it may trigger her to – you know – basically go 'kaboom!'.
Even in her incomplete form, there's no way a mere Minotaur could possibly win against her as long as she will not lose control with the power within her.
The orange-haired princess threw some skill to the Minotaur. The beast roared in irritation and drummed its bulky, hairy chest. Perhaps it was trying to say it was going end the life of our dear princess in an instant.
How lovely the Minotaur roared.
The Minotaur made a combination of attacks, swinging its oversized, rusted halberd. The princess fended them off with a protective wall. However, the Minotaur outsmarted the princess. It dropped his halberd and went to thrust its horn into her small body.
A flash of blinding orange light.
Finally, she transformed into an 'Archon', the half deity transformation. Then, it was over.
The show was over.
I had to go back home.
I flew back holding a chain.
The chain clinked. Tricks shook his head then growled.
"Kreek"
I patted his head to calm him down.
"It's okay, Tricks. We'll be back here soon"
"Kreek!"
I flipped my wings and landed my feet on Tricks wide back. His back is full of small, sharp-pointed thorns which made it difficult for me to sit. He had enormous wings, beautiful ones like the dried twigs of the leafless tree, colored like dried blood.
I pulled the chains again. It clinked. Tricks groaned and flipped his wings.
Tricks flew with me on his back.
To go back home, under the shades of the woods, to the Dark Woods.
***
Entity: Unknown
Three after Samantha battled with the Minotaur
Auryls estate's boundary – Forest at the foot of Mt. Rio
My Dear Mother used to tell a tale about a queen of the Pixies and a certain young man from who lived near the iron mountain.
I used to listen to her story eagerly, sitting beside my sister who had the manners of always complaining every time as Dear Mother stated her tall tale.
My Sister was always like that. She would confront me and our dear Mother.
She was a glutton, too.
Never mind her. I never have seen her for a while now and I don't have the plan of seeing her again 'til the time that I will have her pay on betraying her own family. I will end her life once I see her again.
My Dear Mother's tale was about what I had said - a queen pixie and how she was tricked by a young man – of how she gave him a fragment of Phoenix's soul to that young man hoping that he would return the favor. She hoped that the young man would use the fragment against evil and not on other mortals. We were the good ones at the time.
But it did not happen. Yes, it did happen. That young man used the power against another mortal. He had his reasons. Being Dear Mother having such a good heart, he had pursued my Dear Mother to agree with him. They had made an agreement and made a contract, a partnership.
My Poor Dear Mother agreed and the first man was born with the power of the first Gods.
Soon after their agreement, they had built a kingdom in the mountain of iron with the aide of my Dear Mother. The newly established kingdom had withstood any sieges of other men. They made His Name, The First King, the fiery Iron Fist of Iron Kingdom, to be heard and to be feared. King Miral, it was.
But as the contract reached its end, something bad happened. Really bad thing. Bad, I love bad things if you were to ask. Yes, I love bad things.
Betrayal is one of the bad things. Beautiful Lies.
"Kreek!"
"Don't worry, Tricks. I will get the phoenix's soul fragment back for my Dear Mother."
I patted Tricks' thorny head.
We were there again, trailing our way into the usual place, at the boundary.
It was still mid-morning as always and I was expecting to see our orange-haired princess again.
We arrived just before the door on the tree opened.
However, something was not quite right. Something was going on.
It was three weeks after the orange-haired princess turned a Minotaur into ashes. During that time, some changes must happen.
After the door on the big tree had opened, the ash-haired butler on his black-and-white attire came out first. It was nothing unusual for him to escort the Princess. However, more people were coming out. A brown-haired witch stepped out from the door with her little revealing attire. A tall man with angry red hair followed the witch. He must be the famous King Nero of the Iron Kingdom, father of 'her'. These two, I saw them for the first time.
Then, there she was, our orange-haired princess finally came out.
"There're a lot of people today, huh? Must be special today" I patted Tricks' head.
"Kreek!" Tricks agreed.
I thought no one would come out from the door after these two but there's more since it took time for them to come out from the door.
A surprising one.
"HOW! Why are you here?!"
He came out. A boy. A young man on his ethnic vest. He was a common young man from the orients. However, what surprised me was not him but was the one who was sitting comfortably on his shoulder.
I could not believe my eyes.
"Why are you here, insolent queen, my dear sister?!"
Why the current queen of the Faerie Cry is here? Why did she leave the kingdom that she had fought against my Dear Mother?
Seeing her, my bad blood boiled. The rush of spoiled and blighted blood came into my dilating veins. My eyes darkened and my wings accumulated dark mana, ready to change in and to breach this barrier.
I promised to myself if I see her again, my insolent sister, I kill her myself. I have to. I have to avenge what she had done to our Dear Mother.
Two sets of darkened wings flipped so hard. I was ready to breach the barrier ahead of us and I am going to smash my sister's insolent face.
"Kreek!"
Tricks immediately restrained me from charging toward them by making a wall of thorn ahead of me and dried vines struggling around my small body.
"Kreek!"
"Let me go! I need to go!"
I pulled hard the chains connecting into Tricks' neck. The chains had special enchantments so that I could control Tricks. I know it will give him so much pain if I pulled the chains so hard.
"Kreek!"
Tricks cried in agony. But still, he was restraining me. "Kreek!"
He was pleading me to calm down. I looked back hearing him scream. I was hurting him so much. I felt bad.
It calmed me down a little.
He was right.
I needed to think. There's no need to rush.
He groaned again.
I needed to calm down. I breathed deep. Right, calm down. I exhaled.
My wings fluttered and eyes went to normal. My bloodlust vanished and my veins pumped smoothly again.
"Kreek!" Tricks groaned once more. I loosened my grip on the chains.
"Right. I'm cool now." I patted Tricks' head. The vines loosened immediately and let go of me. The wall of thorns shrunk.
"Kreek!"
I exhaled once more.
"Okay. I know."
There's a time for my vengeance. There's time to get back what was stolen from us. There's time to stick around and watch the movements of my enemies.
This time was not the right time to have my moves.
I had to back down and stay low.
With Tricks, I hid once more under the bushes, under the shade, while watching what's going to happen next.
I had questions on my mind why my insolent sister is here. To why did she leave her kingdom that she had fought against her own mother. Or perhaps she's here to obtain the phoenix's soul fragment our Dear Mother had once. What about the Young Oriental Man with her?
This is going to be interesting.
I could not wait to go back home and tell to My Dear Mother about this. I could not wait to report this to 'The Blighted One' and to the Dark Lords.
For now, let's us watch what's going to happen next here.